Make a Lasting Difference

Private philanthropic support is essential to maintaining Humboldt State University's commitment to teaching, research and public service. We are grateful to our donors who seek to support a wide variety of academic and research activities by providing endowed funds that advance, in perpetuity, the University's mission.

How Endowed Chairs Work

The strength of a great university resides in its faculty. One of the most lasting gifts you can make to higher education is to endow a faculty chair. The faculty member who occupies or "holds" an endowed chair is carefully chosen for their past and potential academic achievement, as well as their leadership in a chosen field.

These highly-prized academic positions are supported by earnings from invested endowment gift funds. These earnings provide additional resources to enhance the chair holder's teaching, research, and service responsibilities. The funds may be used, for example, to augment salary, support professional travel, pay student researchers, upgrade laboratories or facilities, or purchase equipment and supplies.

One Fund — Many Beneficiaries

Endowed chairs offer many benefits to a university, the donor, the chair holder and students. Endowed chairs can help attract high-caliber scholars and teachers and retain junior faculty who are sought after by other institutions. Professors honored with these appointments receive a significant boost in their ability to conduct pioneering research. Donors know their names will be linked in perpetuity to a commitment to academic excellence and the achievements of the chair holders. Students benefit from the ability to access the new research and teaching carried out by the chair holders.

To Create an Endowed Chair

If you would like to learn more about endowing a chair or establishing an endowment fund at Humboldt State University, please contact the Office of University Advancement, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA 95521-8299, at 707-826-5101, or advance@humboldt.edu.